dance and painting performance

Tamarind Arts Council presents an evening of live dance and painting performance by the dancer Mrs. Jayanthi Subramanian and the artist A.V. Ilango

Wednesday, 21st of May, 2008. The event starts at 7.00pm.

Mrs. Jayanthi Subramanian is a Bharathnatyam dancer and choreographer from Chennai, India. She has received her B.A. in Fine Arts and M.A. in Sanskrit. A disciple of Guru Adyar Lakshmanan, she has specialized in abhinaya* under Shrimati Kalanidhi. She will perform the Nandi Sol choreographed by Guru Adyar Lakshmanan and extrapolate the nuances of Mr. A.V. Ilango’s paintings, sculptures and installations which
are conceived from the Saivite* philosophy and mythology.
Mr. Ilango will create a live drawing or painting capturing the dancer’s performance.

• Abhinaya is a narrative concept emphasizing on expressions in Indian dance and drama derived from Bharata's work of dramatic theory, encompassing dance and music, in classical India.

• Shaivism encompasses the traditions of Hinduism that focus on the deity Shiva.

Mr. A.V. Ilango is a Chennia based artist. He earned his B.S and M.S in Mathematics
from Central College, Bangalore in 1971 and 1973. Ilango’s career as an artist includes
many national and international one man, and group shows. His work has been presented
at the Salon International de Printemps, Lyon Fine Arts Society. Other exhibitions
include Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kuala Lampur, Singapore, London,
and San Francisco. In 2006, Ilango exhibited at the Indian Consulate in New York as the
sole participating artist. In 2008, his solo exhibition “Bovine Principle” was featured at
the Forum Art Gallery in Chennai. “Bovine Principle” was also depicted a year earlier at
the Art Samar Gallery in Trevendrum. For the first time, his exhibition is now being held
at the Tamarind Arts in New York.

Beginning in 1992, Ilango has been the recipient of many awards. Most recently in 2002,
he received the International Gold Medal at the Salon d’Automne, European Academy of
Arts, Paris. In 1992, he received the ABS Chennai Chapter & British Council Fellowship
during his visit to the UK. He received the State Award at the Golden Jubilee of
Independence Exhibition in 1997.

Tamarind Arts Council
142 East 39th Street,
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-200-8000
Email: admin@tamarindarts.org

Sotheby’s London—Is Indian Contemporary Art Market Resistant?

Two diametric figures stand out in Artprice’s most recent edition of ArtMarketInsight: one, that Contemporary Indian art has made spectacular gains--in January 2008, the sector’s price index was up by 830% over the decade; and two, that in the first quarter of 2008, international art prices were 7.5% below those recorded in the last quarter of 2007. So, collectors may have been wondering which trend would prevail at Sotheby’s Indian Art sale held this morning in London.

Apparently the former, as both established names and younger artists in the secondary market performed very well, with 65% of the sold lots going above their pre-bid estimates. A total take of $8,463,437* may be the bellwether that indeed Indian art may be able to sustain its ferocious climb it has made over the past decade.

The auction showed strength early on when four George Keyt oils and five Jamini Roy tempera on cards all sold at least double their estimates, with two Keyt’s selling in the $50,000 range. Next up, two Rabindranath Tagores’ sold extremely well—a pen and colored ink on paper titled Bird for $138,213; Death Scene, a gouache and colored ink on paper, for $284,904.

By mid-sale, PAG works went up for auction and, for the most part, did not disappoint those who were watching to gauge the resiliency of the country’s most established artists. An Akbar Padamsee untitled nude, painted in 1956, sold for $498,000 and an archetypal “metascape” from 1983 for $521,630. F. N. Souza’s The Red Road, representing the personal, the political and the spiritual struggle of the artist, and one that Shelley Souza, the artist's daughter, wrote that “so emphatically belonged to my mother, meaning more than any other Souza painting in her collection” sold for $1,144,208. Two other Souzas’ went down for $450,390 and $222,584. S. H. Raza’s La Source, an acrylic on canvas, went for $213,977; an F. M. Husain for nearly $300,000.

But the most positive signs of an Indian contemporary art market not willing to concede to global market forces were yet to come. A 2005 untitled oil by Subodh Gupta went for a final, eye-opening bid of $521,780. Atul Dodiya’s Each Father, Lost (VIII), a mixed media installation in three sections produced shortly after his father's death, sold for $273,163. Bharti Kher’s Missing, bindis on composite aluminum panel, for nearly $210,000 and Thurkral & Tagra’s Stop Think Go, a work that addressed the problem of HIV and AIDS in India, for $202,160. T. V. Santhosh, another young artist who also remains red hot, had an oil on canvas titled A Handful of Ashes, go for $202,478. Jitish Kallat’s mixed media on canvas Humiliation Tax – II, a piece dominated by the centralized image of a young underprivileged child, a symbol for the most vulnerable and impoverished members of Indian society, went for $114,588. And two Sakti Burman’s cashed in at $154,860 and $72,005.

Other names that did well today at Sotheby's include Ambadas ($72,019), Prajakta Palav ($48,320), Chintan Upadhyay ($57,788), Nalini Malini ($71,989), and Shilpa Gupta ($48,333 and $43,595).

Although 26 of the 123 lots (21%) were withdrawn, passed, or unsold, including four works each by Avinash Chandra and F. N. Souza, it seems the 2008 market for Indian Contemporary art remains stable, if not even increasing in value, even when other genres around the world may be waning a bit. Time will tell in upcoming summer and autumn sales if this is indicative for the remainder of the year.

*All prices quoted include the Buyer’s Premium, but do not reflect any Value Added Tax. They were also converted from Great Britain Pound (GBP) to United States Dollar (USD) on 5/2/08. Actual conversion rates may fluctuate from time to time.

Introspection

Tamarind Arts Council is delighted to present A.V. Ilango’s solo exhibition “Introspection.” In this new body of works, the artist features his iconic portrayal of the bull on his canvases and in metal and stone sculptures. The title is a reference to the nature of the artist’s engagement with a specific subject that is embedded in the mass consciousness of the people of South Asia. An opening reception will be held 14 May 2008, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm; the exhibition will run from 14 May - 21 June 2008.

About the Artist

The Chennai based artist A.V. Ilango earned his B.S and M.S in Mathematics from Central College, Bangalore in 1971 and 1973. His career as an artist includes many national and international one man, and group shows. His work has been shown at the Salon International de Printemps, Lyon Fine Arts Society. Other exhibitions include Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kuala Lampur, Singapore, London, San Francisco. In 2006, Ilango exhibited at the Indian Consulate in New York as the sole participating artist. In 2008, his solo show “Bovine Principle” was featured at the Forum Art Gallery in Chennai, which was shown a year earlier at the Art Samar Gallery in Trevendrum. And now at Tamarind Art Council in New York.

Beginning in 1992 Ilango has been the recipient of many awards; most recently in 2002 he received the International Gold Medal at the Salon d’Automne, European Academy of Arts, Paris. In 1992 he received the ABS Chennai Chapter & British Council Fellowship: during his visit to UK, and in 1997 he received the State Award at the Golden Jubilee of Independence Exhibition.

About Tamarind Arts Council

Tamarind Arts Council (TAC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting art of Indian influence in North America. Our focus is to support all types of artistic expression, including performing and fine arts inspired by the arts of India. We also sponsor art-related activities and cross-cultural events that expand the audience for Indian art. In addition to hosting artist interviews, producing art shows, and providing a creative outlet for performance artists, TAC sponsors various cultural events throughout the year: film screenings & lectures, cultural dance performances, book launches & readings, artist performances, Indian musical concerts.

To fulfill our mission of encouraging and showcasing Indian artists and performers, Tamarind Arts Council provides fellowships and scholarship opportunities. We have also established an outreach program to art schools in India, which aims to maintain and improve art universities, while creating a channel for creative connections between India and the U.S.

Tamarind Arts Council exemplifies how life can indeed revolve around the arts. Our mission is to inspire the work of contemporary Indian artists and performers and to facilitate public appreciation of these unique cultural art forms and create dialogs between artists in India and the United States through a number of cultural programs and exchanges.

Rsvp: rsvp@tamarindarts.org or call 212-200-8000 ext 105 For more information, please contact us or email admin@tamarindarts.org or visit our web site at www.tamarindarts.org. Hours of operation: Tuesday - Saturday 11 am to 6 pm. Closed on Sunday and Monday.